


My Hero

by famderlinde



Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: M/M, but arthur is softer, i kind of just... went ham @ like midnight at wrote this in its entirety, i was in my feelings last night, kieran is soft, srry if this is trash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-12
Packaged: 2019-10-26 23:48:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17755847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/famderlinde/pseuds/famderlinde





	My Hero

The world was not a kind place- to anybody, really. But especially not to Kieran Duffy. Having to watch both of his parents waste away to almost nothing physically had him feeling the same emotionally. While his body was still capable, strong… his emotional state was weak. So it’s no surprise that he managed to fall in with people like the O’Driscolls- as painfully obvious as it was that Colm did not care about him, or any of the rest of his guns for hire, the thought of belonging somewhere meant something to him. And if all he had to do was wield a gun and show up to fight, and get some sort of twisted “family” in return? Sign him right up.

But of course his ideas of camaraderie and hopes of having a brotherhood he could feel a part of were all dashed when he had to face the cold reality of what the O’Driscolls were like. They were all about numbers, and in turn that was all he was- another number in their ranks who could bring in big numbers to Colm’s wallet.

So maybe it wasn’t so bad, where he found himself now. With the Van Der Lindes… albeit against his will, sure. But at least everybody around him knew his name, which is more than he could say for the O’Driscolls. And yeah, maybe most of them hated him, but it wasn’t like he was exactly well-loved beforehand. He doubted they even noticed he was gone.

There were a few people who showed him kindness- Mary-Beth, who was one of the few to feed him and bring him water when he was tied up and desperate. Tilly, who was a bit more wary to help him but always seemed sympathetic. Charles, who while aloof, never looked at him with judgement or hatred. And, most surprisingly of all, he seemed to find some sort of solace in the very man who had captured him in the first place- one Arthur Morgan.

Despite him being intimidating, and rough around the edges… Kieran never felt afraid in his presence. Which he surmised probably worked in his favour in earning his respect. All of the other men viewed Kieran like some terrified baby deer who was spooked at a pointed glance or tonal shift. But he wasn’t- and it took saving Arthur’s life and a couple of fishing trips with him to finally start to see him in a different light.

Although he would have never guessed it would be the type of light it turned out to be… the light he never knew he wanted.

He, of course, never complained when Arthur was nicer to him. Greeting him as he would any of the others upon his returns to camp, with a friendly “hello” and an inquiry as to how he had been doing in his absence. Which wouldn’t seem like anything more than simple pleasantries to most, but taking into consideration the fact that he was still getting bullied and accused of eating babies by some other people in the gang on a regular basis, this was really something meaningful to him. Made him feel… at home, if only for a brief moment.

But soon those moments were less brief, and more frequent. Arthur seemed to be around a lot more, much to the dismay of Dutch who’d rather have him out and about working. But of course, Kieran never minded. He never minded him keeping him company while he tended to the horses. He never minded showing him the best fishing spots he knew of, even if they were occasionally interrupted by naked men paddling by without a care in the world. He also never minded how one late night, when nightmares about his parents plagued his mind, Arthur came to see him. The smell of alcohol followed him but he still seemed composed, obviously able to hold his liquor well. The two men sat by the dying fire for what seemed like hours, drinking and  bonding over all the hell they’d seen, all the people they’d lost. Over time they seemed to get closer, and closer until they were shoulder to shoulder and three sheets to the wind.

Mary-Beth gushed all the time about her romance novels, about that moment when the two main characters look into each other’s eyes for the first time in a new light and something just _clicks._ He always brushed it off, he never thought that love would find him in the way that she preached it to. But when after a moment of silence he turned to look at his companion, expecting him to be finally passed out after the alcohol and saw him staring intently at him instead… he felt like the protagonist. They met in the middle, lips joining in a kiss that was warmer than the smoking embers in front of them. Arthur pulled away before long, and Kieran thought that is when he’d flee- realizing the alcohol had gotten the better of him.

But as Kieran looked into the older man’s eyes he looked stone cold sober as he reached up to cup his cheek, pulling Kieran back in for another kiss. This one seemed… different. More desperate. _Needier._ And not on Kieran’s behalf.

Arthur’s hand travelled from Kieran’s cheek to the back of his neck in an attempt to pull him closer than he already was. The other snaked around his waist, urging his body forwards. Before long Kieran was straddling Arthur’s hips, arms wrapped around his neck as they made out in the middle of camp. And while it was still dark, the hours of the early morning were starting to approach and the camp would soon be waking as the world did. The first sounds of people shifting around them drew both men back to reality, and the silhouette of somebody coming to life in their tent was enough to make both of them separate as quickly as humanly possible. With only a brief look between them they knew they both had to return to their own tents or risk people seeing them out there, alone. Despite having much more to risk with being seen in this position, Arthur wasn’t the one to immediately rush away into hiding- Kieran was, and amidst his panic he never knew how Arthur didn’t even rise off of the ground until he was hidden in the safety of his shoddy, makeshift abode. Then he rose slowly, the taste of the other still on his lips as he crashed down on his cot.

Waking up the next morning, Kieran couldn’t be blamed for thinking he had dreamt the whole thing. Especially since by the time he was up and at ‘em, Arthur was already gone. And he stayed gone for a few days- nothing unusual for him. Kieran really started to wonder if the whole thing had been nothing but a drunken hallucination.

But the way Arthur’s eyes seemed to find him immediately as soon as he walked back into camp for the first time since said otherwise. Never one for subtlety, Arthur headed for him immediately and Kieran felt his heart start to race as nerves consumed him- not at the sight of Arthur, but at the fact that he’d be face to face with Arthur again in sight of everybody else. And he didn’t know how that was going to go down.

“‘Ey Kieran, you’ve been gettin’ on alright?” He asked simply, as if nothing was different between them. His body language, tone, and words were all the same… but the look in his eyes a dead giveaway that something was amiss.

“Just fine, Arthur.” Was all he could think to say in response. Was he… supposed to say more? To say less? He’d never found himself in a situation like this before. And it was apparent that Arthur was in the same boat, his hands twitching nervously as they rested on his belt.

“Good… good.” An awkward pause between them. Normally this was where Arthur would retreat, finish making his rounds greeting the others. But he lingered, as if he just couldn’t bring himself to leave of his own accord. Luckily he didn’t have to, as the loud voice of Dutch travelled across camp, calling his name. Despite an order from his boss Arthur looked back to Kieran, as if for permission to go. He smiled at him.

“You should probably go. He’s not gonna be happy if you don’t.” He told him with a chuckle, and Arthur soon returned his smile.

“You’re probably right.” He concurred, yet his feet didn’t move. Instead his hands did as he discreetly shifted his hand downwards into his jean pocket, pulling out a folded piece of paper. “Here’s that bait recipe you were lookin’ for.” He stated unconfidently, more as a show to anybody who happened to be nearby rather than as a factual statement. Knowing he didn’t ask Arthur for any sort of special recipe he quickly slid the paper into his own pocket as the outlaw finally retreated to see what Dutch wanted. He himself quickly headed off to where the horses were- somewhere he wouldn’t be disturbed.

His hands were trembling as he took the folded sheet from his pocket, triple checking around him to make sure nobody was nearby. As much as he wanted to see what Arthur had given him… he was afraid. Afraid that all it would say was that he made a drunken mistake, that it meant nothing. But he had to know, and so he slowly unfolded it to see it didn’t say much at all.

Instead of a written letter there was instead a drawing, and a good one at that. It also seemed to be… upside down? But the words on the bottom were the right way up- cursive script that simply read “ _My hero.”_ That was when it clicked for Kieran as to what Arthur had drawn- it was him, in the moment he saved Arthur at Six Point Cabin. He flipped the drawing upright and saw himself with the pistol held out, hair and clothes still disheveled from having been tied to that tree for so long. He realized the drawing was upside down because Arthur had been on his back, head hanging over the side of the small porch as Kieran shot down the O’Driscoll on top of him. That was what Arthur had seen. And Kieran had never seen himself quite like that before- not only from that angle, but painted in such a way that made him look… heroic. Brave.

Carefully Kieran folded the paper and placed it back in his pocket as he tended to the horses, but for once they weren’t the first thing on his mind. And soon enough Arthur, Dutch and Hosea were headed his way to mount up and head out on another job in Rhodes. The older men took off without much hesitation and Kieran made a quick excuse about not being finished with Arthur’s horse in order to stall him for just a moment. They shrugged and carried onwards, yelling for him to catch up later.

With a comfortable silence between them, Kieran finished feeding and caring for Arthur’s mount before allowing the older man to saddle up. And just before he was about to head out their eyes met yet again, causing Arthur to stall. Kieran took the opportunity to speak.

“You’re a real talented artist Arthur, honest.” Arthur’s cheeks flushed slightly at the compliment and he attempted to cover his face by tilting the brim of his hat downwards.

“That? ‘Was nothin’...Helps when I have a good subject to draw.” He seemed to say without thinking, the pink on his cheeks growing more intense. Kieran was quick to follow suit, his own face starting to go red as well.

“Well… thank you. I really loved it.” Upon hearing that Arthur seemed to gain a little burst of confidence as he looked up to meet Kieran in the eye, seemingly to see if he had meant what he said. And in a moment of bravery on his own Kieran quickly reached out to grasp Arthur’s hand, which hung by his side. This caused him to cock a brow before Kieran quickly placed a kiss on the top of his hand, sharply inhaling as his lips made contact for that brief second. He didn’t keep a hold of his hand for long, to avoid other people noticing, and soon it was back at his side as if nothing had happened.

With a nod goodbye and a blush spreading from his nose to the tips of his ears Arthur was off to meet with the others, riding slow in an attempt to compose himself before joining them. Kieran watched as he rode off and smiled in anticipation for his return, hand ghosting over the sheet of paper in his pocket as Arthur retreated into the distance.

Maybe, Kieran thought to himself, the world wasn’t such a cruel place after all. Maybe even somebody with luck like him could find his happy ending.


End file.
